Dissident unity

Nicosia (Reuter) - Iraqi opposition groups ending a meeting in Kurd-controlled northern Iraq have agreed to unite to topple Saddam Hussein, Iraqi dissident sources said yesterday.

Shia and Sunni Muslims, Kurds, Turkomans and Assyrians as well as Communists, socialists, rebel Baathists backed by Syria and Saudi Arabia, and former army generals met for three days in the northern town of Salahuddin, out of reach of the Iraqi army.

Iraqi exiles said the opposition groups had agreed to set aside differences in order to defeat President Saddam.